The best way to start the day

Month: September 2011

“I cannot divine how it happens that the man who knows the least is the most argumentative.”

Giovani della Casa 1503 – 1556, Papal Secretary of State

In case the picture isn’t too clear, the caption is “I love being argumentative”.

When I came across this quote I was surprised to see that there was this type of person around more than 400 years ago. Pity that trait didn’t die out with time, but that kind of person is definitely still around.

It doesn’t matter what you say, that person will say the exact opposite. It also doesn’t matter whether there is proof of something or if it is a generally accepted fact, the Different One will say its rubbish; his point of view is correct.

I know someone like this and at first it was very hard for me to ignore him and not argue back. But it is absolutely pointless, no matter what you say you will not budge him from his point of view.

So if I am in his company and he starts with his asinine comments, I reply with “oh, really? I didn’t know that.” and just wait for him to run out of steam.

Don’t waste your time and energy arguing with someone who doesn’t want to have a monologue instead of a conversation, rather find something else to do.

The first picture is pretty much my first memory of a telephone. I remember them being very heavy – or maybe it’s because I was small? – and rather strong but my dad still managed to break a few.

Fast forward some years, and the rotary dial was replaced by pushbuttons but the basic was still the same. You submitted your application and waited until what is now Telkom, showed up to install your service. It would involve them climbing up a pole, driving in and out your yard several times and the little saddles that they hammered in to keep the wire neat was replaced by a glue gun.

Then came cellphones. I really didn’t want one, but we succumbed and got one. A Motorola Demo model with a flip that you opened and closed to answer and hang up. The battery lasted about 4 hours, and the bigger battery that you could get doubled the weight of the phone. Everybody very proudly carried around their ‘bricks’.

Now of course you can’t keep up with the models of cellphones that come out these days. Every new one does more than the previous one, and you can do just about anything on a cellphone that you can on a computer. Mind boggling.

My point is this. Do we keep up with technology? I don’t mean having the latest gadgets, I mean do we adjust ourselves, our way of thinking and our personal growth and we learn, or are we still stuck on the old models from our childhood? Repeating the same old behaviours and getting the same old results.

Whoever Ed Allen might be or was, change is indeed difficult. But it can be so exciting.